Dear friends:

Today, in the 55th inaugural ceremony in history, George W. Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd President of the United States.  The oath was the exact same one, word-for-word, that I took when commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force 52 years ago.

Through Christian song selections and other words, God was honored throughout the ceremony.  The final benediction by a black pastor was the most powerful public prayer I have ever heard, as the pastor repeatedly confessed God's Word over the nation and the President, ending with a bold, "IN THE NAME OF JESUS..." (no doubt to the chagrin of the ACLU).  God surely smiled.  I was deeply moved.

The President's predominant theme was freedom and liberty.  He ended the 21-minute, inspiring speech by saying, "America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof..."  (transcript at www.foxnews.com).

Bush is driven by a sense of divine mission at this unique time in history.  Before he even decided to run for his first term, evangelist Perry Stone, Jr. ran into him in Jerusalem.  Stone told Bush that he would someday be President.

As to mission, former Librarian of Congress and renowned historian Daniel Boorstin writes that early Americans believed the victories and miraculous growth of our nation were for a greater purpose "From the beginning, Americans had been unwilling to believe that their emigration, their expansion, their diplomacy, and their wars had no high purpose, and they commonly defined that purpose as a ‘mission.’"

Even Herman Melville, the American novelist who was no great friend of Christians, compared the American experience with that of the Israelites in Scripture. In 1850, Melville wrote "We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people -- the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world."

America entered into a covenant with God to extend the light of Christ’s love to the world, to become, as John Winthrop said, "a shining city on a hill." As the New England Confederation proclaimed in 1643 "We all came to these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In the Mayflower Compact of the first settlers at Plymouth in 1620, it was proclaimed, "In the name of God…Having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith…"  The pervasive Christian influence of our Founding Fathers and in our Constitution is well-documented.

Of course, the American President cannot openly ascribe such a biblical purpose, but he knows that true freedom is derived from the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel.  He knows from experience, having personally been set free by Christ many years ago.

There is much sin in the world, and in America.  But there is also a remnant -- millions of praying, Holy Spirit-filled Americans.  Their voices, and the voice of God, were heard in the Inauguration ceremony today.

May God have His way in America until His plan and purpose are complete.

Jim